New Year is a great start for new family goals

Many us will hop on that scale and make a weight loss goal. For kids, the scale is not often the best way to determine weight goals because kids are growing and have other factors that determine healthy weight.The recommended guideline (and I say guideline because nothing is exact) is the BMI-to-age calculator.

This does not only look at the BMI score but also plots it against a standard growth chart. So your looking at where does your child fall in the growth/weight curve compared to other children (based on US Children). Read more.

I just read an article that doctors in Utah are going to begin to do BMI assessment on all children. This should be done as part of a yearly pediatric visit. I created pediatric visit sheets to help guide parents in topics that might want to discuss as part of the annual physical. They are age appropriate and have a place for a BMI score. Print them out and take them to your next child's wellness visit to ensure that your pediatrian is monitoring your child's BMI percentile score.

Here is what the Academy of Pediatrics says about kids BMI:"The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that periodic measurement of BMI be preformed as part of a comprehensive approach to prevention of pediatric overweight. "Source: American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition. PolicyStatement: Prevention of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity. Pediatrics, 2003 Aug; 112(2): 424-30